Forbidden Fruit
by everlovingdeer
Summary: "It's just a bit of harmless fun." "For you maybe." Merlin, I could hear the raised eyebrow in his voice. Rolling my eyes, I continued my progress down the stairs. "Turn your attention onto any of the other string of girls you've got lined up. I don't care how 'interesting' you find her. I don't want you hurting her."
1. Forbidden Fruit

I had a habit of procrastinating and it was going to get me into some serious trouble one day. Just last week I had been a month behind on making my notes and somehow through sheer will force alone – and a severe lack of sleep – I had managed to catch up. Not that I did it all on my own. Albus still had his notes from last year and I borrowed them which some people might call cheating but I called it being resourceful. Why waste time on something when there was a quicker way of doing it? After all, I am a Slytherin and it wasn't as if copying notes would get me in trouble.

As I walked back to the common room, I couldn't dull the skip in my step with the realisation that there was no need for me to pull long hours studying in the library anymore. Well – I'd probably procrastinate again and fall behind in a few weeks. But that was a worry for another time; right now, all I wanted to do was go to sleep.

Stepping into the common room I wasn't surprised to find that it was practically deserted. Every sane student was probably in bed right now and I couldn't wait to join them. Or rather, that had been the plan until I heard someone call my name.

My eyes drifted towards the two lone male figures, sat before the fireplace and I made my way over to them.

"Albus," I greeted with a smile which he returned as I turned to greet the boy sitting beside him. "Malfoy."

Malfoy tilted his head curiously, not recognising who I was. Not that I could blame him for it. Out of the sheer number of girls in our house, I couldn't expect him to remember me.

"You're pulling another late nighter, I see," Albus remarked, looking up at me and making me turn my eyes away from Malfoy. "You're beginning to make me worry about your health."

"Don't worry about it," I said with a sheepish smile, tucking some of my hair behind my ears. "I've finally caught up so there's no need for me to pull another all-nighter."

"But for how long?" he asked knowingly, making me fidget uncomfortably.

"Well I'll just borrow your notes again," I declared with an innocent smile.

Albus' lips turned up in one corner as he shook his head in disbelief. "I knew I should have thrown my notes away at the end of the year."

"I'm glad you didn't."

He rolled his eyes, pretending to wonder seriously, "Maybe I should throw them away? That way you'll learn your lesson."

"You wouldn't dare Al." I leaned down to pat the top of his head, ruffling his hair slightly in the way I knew he secretly hated. "You value my friendship too much."

Struggling to hide his amusement, Albus made a motion with his hand as though to usher me away. "Hurry up and go to bed before you fall asleep where you're standing."

"I knew you cared about me," I cooed, pinching his cheek before turning to walk towards the girl's dorm.

"You're like the younger sister I never asked for," he muttered under his breath.

"But you love me anyway!" I called out, not even bothering to look back at him as I walked up the stairs and headed towards my dorm.

Making sure that I remained quiet, I approached my bed and went to change into my pyjamas when I remembered Albus' notes. After I had finished changing into my pyjamas, I opened the trunk at the foot of my bed and rifled through it and found the stack of Albus' notes. Cradling the notes in one arm, I rose to my feet and made my way back to the common room.

My footsteps slowed down when I heard Albus call my name incredulously. Looking at Albus from my vantage point at the top of the stairs, I realised that he wasn't talking to me and that his voice had only carried across the empty common room.

"You can't be serious," Albus declared, looking at Malfoy. "I'm not going to let you do that."

"Come on Al –"

"No, Scorpius," he was firm, making me wonder what they were talking about and where exactly I fit into it.

"It's just a bit of harmless fun."

"For you maybe." Merlin, I could _hear_ the raised eyebrow in his voice. Rolling my eyes, I continued my progress down the stairs. "Turn your attention onto any of the other string of girls you've got lined up. I don't care how 'interesting' you find her. I don't want you hurting her."

 _Oh_.

My footsteps slowed to a halt once I'd reached the bottom of the stairs. What exactly had I done to make Malfoy find me interesting? And how did I undo it? The entire castle knew of what happened when Scorpius found a girl 'interesting' – she was pursued by him and when she'd succumb to him, she lasted a week at most before he switched targets. Whilst I was glad that Albus was willing to think of me so highly and was trying to 'protect' me, did he really think I would succumb to the seductions of Malfoy? And here I was thinking that he had a high opinion of me.

"Relax Albus." I saw Malfoy pat Albus on the shoulder, "It's all harmless – she'll know that. I mean, come on, all the girls know it's nothing serious."

"Don't even think about it." Albus was so serious that it made Malfoy pause. "Just because they know that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt them any less. And I swear Scorp, if you hurt her then I'm going to hex your family jewels off your body."

The two boys were silent, assessing each other and I rolled my eyes at their male prostrating. They were forgetting one key factor of their conversation – me. And I had no interest in being Malfoy's newest conquest. My only interests were eating and sleeping. I didn't have time for Malfoy and his mind games.

"Albus," I called out quietly, watching the two boys grow tense at the sound of my voice. Really. Barely containing an eye roll, I crossed the common room and made my way to stand in front of the two of them. "So, what were you busybodies talking about then?"

My words, instilling a false sense of security, made them both relax. "Nothing," Albus insisted with a smile, "I thought you were going to bed?"

"Oh I am." I handed him the stack of notes I'd borrowed from him. "Here, I wanted to return these while I remembered to."

"Ah, thanks." His eyes flickered towards Malfoy whose eyes were trained on my face, rather disconcertingly. "You should probably head up now."

"You're right." I smiled once more down at him. "Goodnight, Albus."

"Goodnight," he murmured back as I walked back towards the stairs.

"Goodnight," I heard Malfoy call out from behind me and I returned it without even looking back at him.

Ignoring the weight of the two pair of eyes on my back, I climbed the stairs to head back towards my dorm. Boys were so bloody annoying. But – knowing Malfoy's flighty nature, I had no doubt that some other girl would have caught his eye by tomorrow morning. I wasn't worried.

"I know that look Scorpius," was the last thing I heard of their voices as I reached the top of the stairs.

* * *

I was proud of myself. I was a week on from returning Albus' notes to him and I had yet to procrastinate. It was a record.

That was why I was in the library on a Saturday whilst the rest of the girls were in Hogsmeade. They had all finished their work yesterday but hey – I still thought I was making improvements. The girls had promised to get me a little something back from Hogsmeade and with that for motivation, I was powering through my workload.

I was so determined to get through my work that I didn't pay attention to the boy that came and sat across from me. Perhaps I should have. At the quiet call of my name – my first name – I finally looked up at the boy and did a double take at the sight of Malfoy.

"Can I help you?" I asked back, waiting for him to say something.

He furrowed his eyebrows before his expression smoothed out, "What? No hello?"

"Hello." I gave him a look, "Did you need something because otherwise I need to get on with my work."

"Why aren't you at Hogsmeade?" he asked curiously, unscrewing the lid to his well of ink.

"Why aren't you?" I asked back, turning to my incomplete page of notes, "I'm sure there's an entire line of girls waiting for you to ask them."

He looked up momentarily, smiling briefly. "I need to do some work – I _am_ a 7th year after all."

"If you say so," I murmured back mildly.

"Now you answer my question." He put his hand on my wrist, stopping me from writing. I pulled my hand away, watching him closely.

"I need to do some work," I repeated his words back to him and from the upwards curve of his lips I knew he'd realised that.

"And you didn't want to go to Hogsmeade?" Giving up his pretence of working, he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I did." Setting my quill aside, I copied his movement. "But my friends promised me they'd bring me something back so I don't feel that bad about not going." I shrugged watching him nod.

"You're friends?" He raised a curious eyebrow. "I haven't really seen you around often."

"Because not everyone strives to catch your attention," I remarked coolly, listening to the voice in my head that prompted me to continue with my words. "But you know my friends, right? I mean there's Sam and Tia –"

"Ah," he said in understanding and I watched him shuffle slightly in his seat. Tia had been one of the girls he'd messed around with for a grand total of a week until he'd gotten bored and moved onto a Hufflepuff girl in his year. Not that Tia was heartbroken by his decision, according to her, she had used him to make someone jealous.

"Yes, _ah_." Leaning towards him, I pressed my crossed arms on the desk and eyed him curiously, "Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, what do you want from me?"

"Nothing," he denied innocently with a shake of his head. "I just want to talk."

"I don't believe you." Raising an eyebrow, I straightened up in my seat, "Whatever you find interesting about me, don't. I have no interest in becoming anything to you so turn your attention onto some other girl."

"Hey now," he protested. Now _he_ was the one to lean in, putting an earnest expression on his face. He was quite an actor. "All I want to do is to talk. I swear."

"Just to talk?" I repeated, my tone telling him that I didn't believe him for a second.

He nodded. "I swear – I don't have ulterior motives."

Lies, my mind screamed but nevertheless, I asked, "Why?"

"Why what? Why do I want to talk?" I nodded, "I thought we could be friends?"

"Did you now?"

He nodded once, raising his eyes and spearing me into place. "There's not many people I can talk to, you see."

His words rang with truth and they made me see him differently. Not that he'd realise it but for a small fraction of a second I saw past the façade he'd put up, the one he wore almost constantly.

"Ok," I relented, taking my wand and putting it on the table, harmlessly. He got the hint. "Let's talk then."

And we did. We spoke for so long that we missed dinner and I wondered whether I had misjudged him, whether I had let things I'd heard other people say about him form my opinion of him. I was ashamed of myself. Without even knowing him, I had allowed my own prejudices, the ones of the other students, decide how I saw him.

* * *

Scorpius and I spoke often following that time in the library and I knew that Albus found it worrying. Merlin, he had even taken me aside to ask me to be careful around Scorpius because although he was his friend, the rumours around Scorpius _were_ after all, based on the truth. After multiple reassurances that nothing would happen between the two of us Albus only relented when I had told him that I was sure Scorpius had switched targets to some other girl.

We were sat in the deserted common room and I shifted in my seat, trying to get comfortable and ignoring the brush of his shoulder against mine. Scorpius leaned his arm across the top of the sofa, using his hand to play with some of my hair as he spoke about something in great detail. To be honest, I wasn't quite sure what it was that he was talking about because he had lost me when he started reciting quidditch statistics.

"You're bored, aren't you?" he asked, clocking onto my wandering mind.

"A little bit," I admitted with a sheepish smile, "But don' be offended by it – my mind tends to wonder whenever dates and stats are mentioned. It's why I'm not very good at History of Magic."

"Do you want me to tutor you?" he offered, straightening up and leaning towards me slightly.

"You don't need to," I insisted, trailing off when he shook his head. "Honestly."

"Maybe I want to. Did you ever think about that?" He tugged gently on the strand of hair he had been playing with. "Besides, we're friends now, aren't we?"

"We are," I agreed, "But I don't want you to waste your time with tutoring me."

"Why would it be a waste?" He raised an eyebrow. "I didn't say that I was going to do it for free, now did I?"

"You didn't." I acknowledged, staring up into his face curiously. His eyes flickered to my lips and they parted slightly under his stare. Surely, he couldn't still –

"Exactly, I didn't," he murmured back, voice deeper than before.

I cleared my throat, forcing myself to ask, when I really didn't want to, "And what do you want in return then?"

His eyes flickered back to my eyes and I saw the change in his expression. I already regretted asking him the question, just like I knew I would. Scorpius leaned down slowly, closing the distance between us and there was no doubt about what it was that he intended to do. He drew closer to me and I stared at him wide eyed, mentally hoping he would pull back before he kissed me.

"No," I whispered when there were bare millimetres between our lips.

He froze at the word, eyes meeting mine. Scorpius remained there, staring into my eyes before he eventually drew back. With a sigh, he settled back away from me, bringing his arm, from the back of the sofa, to his side. I chewed on my cheek cautiously, eyeing the small space he had put between us.

"Why?" he asked eventually.

"Why?" I echoed back, looking at him in mild confusion.

"Why say no?" He shook his head when I went to explain, "Not, why didn't you let me kiss you. Why spend time with me if you knew this was my aim? Or it _had_ been my aim at one point."

"Because you're lonely," I said softly, watching his features stiffen at my words.

"Lonely?" He scoffed, meeting my eyes. Haughtily raising an eyebrow, he laid his arm against the back of the sofa again, "You've seen first-hand how popular I am. Do I _seem_ lonely to you?"

"You do," I admitted, watching from a front row seat as he slammed his defences back up and locked them just for extra measure.

"I have loads of friends –"

"And now many of them are your real friends?" He glanced away from me, "Apart from Albus, can you name any other true friends? Friends that you can let your guard down around and just be yourself with? You're very popular Scorpius, I can see that, but I think you're lonely."

"And that's what this way?" he asked harshly, "Pity?"

"No," I shook my head, straightening up in my seat to face him. "This was us talking and getting to know each other more than we would have if I was going to let you get into my pants. But Merlin, Scorpius, even _you_ have to admit that we've become friends. All I wanted to do was make you a little less lonely. The world is too rough to go around without anyone to turn to."

"And you want that person to be you?" I returned his cynical look with a patient smile, seeing the way it threw him off.

"It doesn't have to be – as long as you've got people that you can turn to." Closing the distance between us, I pressed a small kiss to his cheek and rose to my feet. Looking down at him, I registered his surprise at my unexpected gesture, "And because I'm guessing my week is up, you'll switch targets and we'll stop talking. But remember my words Scorpius."

He watched me warily and called my name.

"If you want to talk then you know where to find me," I murmured quietly before walking away from him.

* * *

"Let's talk."

The conversation around me came to a halt at those two words. The girls, sharing a look, turned to face the boy that had interrupted our conversation. I did the same, eyebrows rising slightly when I found Scorpius shifting slightly uncomfortably on his feet before the small group of us.

"Scorpius?"

He cleared his throat and held out his hand for me to take. But when I didn't, he held it out closer to me and gestured for me to take it. "Hurry up, then."

"What?" My confusion was evident and he rolled his eyes and leaned down to take my hand, forcibly making me rise to my feet. The girls watched the exchange in silent interest as I took a step closer to him.

"You said to talk, so let's talk."

"I'm in the middle of a conversation," I tried to protest, gesturing to the girls that were sitting around me.

"It's alright," Tia piped up, giving me a look that silently told me that I'd have to tell her everything. "Go ahead and talk."

"You heard her – now come along."

Without giving me a chance to say anything, Scorpius led me away from the group, not knowing the amount of drama his actions would cause. I sighed; where was his newest target and why was she not around to occupy him? I didn't need _more_ rumours to spread about how I had managed to last longer than the typical week.

Following silently behind Scorpius, I realised that he was leading me out of the common room and up the stairs towards the boys' dorms. Once we reached the top of the stairs and had come to a stop beside his dorm, he gestured for me to enter the room first. I did as he ordered and walked in first, making a point to remain standing. Ignoring the small smirk that tugged on his lips when Scorpius realised this, I looked around the slightly messy room with curious eyes. By the time I looked back to him, I found Scorpius sitting on a bed, waiting for my eyes to return to him.

"What was that all about?" I crossed my arms.

"You're the one that said to come and find you if I wanted to talk," he pointed out, shifting to lean against the headboard. He crossed his legs before him, watching me closely. "You said so last night – and that's what I did."

"What did you want to talk about?" Relaxing my posture, I tentatively closed the space between us to perch on the edge of his bed. "Scorpius?"

"My mum passed away before my third year," he admitted after a short moment's silence. I couldn't say anything, watching him closely. Scorpius was admitting a fact that I knew, that the entire school knew. "Mum passed away and I was so lost – I had no idea what to do. Suddenly it was just me and dad and I didn't know how to cope."

"You seem to have coped though," I said needlessly, placing a hand on his thigh.

"Yeah I _seemed_ to have coped." He couldn't bring himself to meet his eyes, "I've heard the stuff some people say about me – that that's when this whole revolving line of girls started, that I flipped out and became some fucked up kid, and maybe they're right. But I didn't want to talk about any of it."

"And you want to talk about it now?" My question was quiet, and I wondered why he was telling me. Throughout our conversations, we had never broached a subject so … personal.

"I think I'm ready to," he admitted with a sigh.

I rose to my feet, hand falling from his thigh. "Let me go and get Albus – he'll probably be the best person for you to talk to."

"No." he said quickly, catching my hand to halt my progress, "I want to talk to you."

I watched him cautiously, lowering myself back to the bed, "Are you sure?"

He nodded, finally meeting my eyes, "More sure than I've ever been before."

* * *

"You've become really close with Scorpius," Tia started cautiously as we boarded the carriage to head into Hogsmeade.

"And?" I furrowed my eyebrows, looking at her curiously, "Is there something wrong with that?"

"It's nothing like that," she denied with a wave of her hand. "I'm just worried about you – very worried."

"There's no need for you to be worried." I couldn't help but roll my eyes, wondering how many times and from how many different people, I would hear the same words.

"You've heard the rumours," she explained, "Merlin, you know first-hand that he gets bored easily and I don't want you to get hurt."

"He doesn't see me like that Tia," I assured her as the carriage drew closer to Hogsmeade.

"You're spending today together."

"As friends." She sighed, already having heard the explanation. "Trust me Tia, I'm not going to get hurt just by being his friend."

"And how do you know that?" she demanded, overly concerned for me. Why didn't she understand that there was no need for her to be so concerned?

"Because he wouldn't do that – not to me."

"Oh Merlin, you haven't deluded yourself into thinking that you're different from the other girls, right?" She took my hand, trying to make me see 'sense'. "Every one of the girls thinks that."

"How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not one of those girls?" I asked as the carriage came to a halt. "He's not going to hurt me and as grateful as I am that you care so much about me, you really don't need to."

"But how do you know?" she persisted as we stepped out of the carriage and made our way towards Honeydukes where Scorpius told me he would be waiting.

"Because we talk Tia, we talk about things that are personal and we've become so close." I gave her a look before she could interrupt me, "I'm being serious here, I've seen the real Scorpius, a sincere person who is almost completely different to the one that plays around with those other girls."

"Just be careful," she said with a sigh when Honeydukes came into sight and with it, came the waiting figure of Scorpius.

Together we approached him and the previous subject of our discussion wasn't brought up again. When Tia left the pair of us to meet up with the rest of the girls, she threw a distrustful look at Scorpius as she did so.

"What was that about?" he wondered curiously as he watched her retreating figure.

" _That_ was a consequence of your previous actions." I scanned our surroundings and frowned when I noticed that Albus was missing. "Where's Al? I thought he was supposed to be joining us?"

"He ditched us," Scorpius explained as we headed into Honeydukes, moving to the side to avoid an exiting group of third years. "He said he's going on a date with his girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?" I repeated curiously, throwing a look at Scorpius from over my shoulder before making a beeline to the chocolate section. "So, he finally plucked up his courage then?"

"Sort of." I didn't need to look at Scorpius to realise that he had shrugged. "He just decided to listen to Lupin, instead of listening to any other members of his family."

"A very smart decision," I agreed, eyes lighting up when I realised that there was a chocolate fountain set up in the corner.

Scorpius chuckled from beside me but nevertheless, followed me as I approached the fountain. Reading the sign, my smile grew even further. The fountain was made of Honeydukes' latest attempt at muggle chocolate. And the best part – it was free to try.

"What's the difference between muggle chocolate and wizard chocolate?" Scorpius asked curiously from behind my shoulder. I was already dipping a strawberry into the chocolate and raising it to his lips.

"Nothing really," I explained when he gave the strawberry a cautious look. "It doesn't move for one thing and, if you ask me, I think it tastes better. Now try it."

He did so without a word. Turning back to the fountain, I helped myself to a strawberry as well and smiled happily. Merlin, chocolate was the best. Looking back to Scorpius, I went to ask him what he thought of the chocolate but stopped myself when I found him watching me curiously.

"What?" I asked, eyeing the hand he slowly stretched towards me.

"You've got some chocolate –"

He wiped it away before I could, thumb rubbing against my bottom lip. My eyes flittered up to his in surprise as he raised the same thumb to his lips to clean the chocolate off from it, all while keeping his eyes on me. Clearing my throat, I went to say something, only to trail off when because of another of his actions.

Scorpius' thumb returned to my bottom lip, trailing across it back and forth in small motions. I swallowed nervously, trying to think of something to say.

"Scorpius –"

His lips drowned out my words. For a moment, I wanted to kiss him back. For a moment, I wanted to forget that we were standing in the middle of Honeydukes, surrounded by the other students. But that was before the bitter sting of betrayal set in. Scorpius drew back from the kiss slightly, bringing a hand up to frame my face before closing the space between us again. He had yet to realise that I wasn't kissing him back.

I pushed him away from me roughly.

Scorpius stumbled on his feet, watching me with wide eyes. It was obvious that I had caught him off guard.

"I can't believe you," I said quietly before he could attempt to close the space between us. "You were still trying to get into my pants? Is that what this was? Talking to me about your mum, listening to me when I talked about how hard my parent's divorce was for me? A way for you to get my walls down so you could achieve your goal?"

He shook his head, "Of course it's not –"

"Merlin, you're just like everyone said you were."

Swallowing thickly, I straightened to my full height and stepped away from him to put more distance between us. I paid him no heed as he called my name, trying to talk to me, and turned on my heels to walk out of the shop.

* * *

So, maybe I was being childish by avoiding him. But who was Albus to decide that I needed to talk to Scorpius again. And, for that matter, when did he decide that Scorpius and I should be something more than strangers? Talk about switching sides.

"Will you just listen to me?" Albus implored, clearly becoming exasperated.

"Of course I'm listening to you Albus." I couldn't help but roll my eyes. "You abducted me from the common room and forced me into your dorm so I've got nothing else to do but listen to you."

"Your snark isn't appreciated." He informed me with a sniff of his nose. "Besides, if you _were_ really listening to me, then you would understand what I'm saying."

"You're saying that you want me to talk to Scorpius." I crossed my legs, making myself comfortable on his bed, "And I'm saying I don't want to. Anyway, I thought you were against Scorpius and me being friends?"

"I was in the beginning," he admitted, sitting down on the bed beside me.

"And you're not anymore? Why?"

"Because we have a long talk." Albus patted my knee, "And because you're different for him, different from the other girls."

"Well I thought I was too," I muttered looking away from him, "But I was clearly wrong."

"You _are_ different," a voice insisted from the doorway and I shot Albus an annoyed look from the corner of my eye.

"You lied to me."

"I just omitted a fact," he denied innocently as he rose to his feet. "I'll leave you two alone."

I didn't watch Albus as he left the room, eyeing the spot where he had been sitting in annoyance. He had tricked me. Merlin.

"Well," I muttered, forcing myself to look over at Scorpius who had made his way across the room to sit on his own bed. "Let's get this over with then."

"There was a misunderstanding in Honeydukes," he insisted and I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

"Of course there was."

"There was," Scorpius asserted, "And you ran off before I could explain. Besides, any time I tried to talk to you about it, you avoided me like I was the plague."

"And you're surprised about that, because?"

He sighed wearily, realising that I wasn't budging. Rubbing a hand over his face, he looked up at me slowly. I could tell that Scorpius was nervous, but why –

"Listen, I'm only going to say this once because I don't have the courage to say it more times." He looked away from me, fiddling with his fingers. "I don't _do_ relationships, everyone knows that –"

"And that's supposed to justify tricking me?"

"Would you let me finish?" Annoyance crept into his tone. "Merlin, woman, you could write a book on the conclusions you jump to by yourself. _Look_ , I'm going to be frank here. When Albus told me to not even think about going after you, it made you off limits and something you're not _allowed_ to have is much more tempting then something you can't have. I didn't want to be in a relationship until I met you –"

"Merlin, how cliché." Even still, I could hear the truth in his words

He narrowed his eyes at me, "Maybe, but it's the truth."

"I don't doubt that," I said, my words making him look at me in utter shock.

He floundered for something to say for a moment before shaking his head in exasperation, "Ok, I think I'm going to get whiplash from tying to keep up with your emotions, could you please explain?"

I couldn't help but smile as I sat up properly on Albus' bed, moving to the edge so my knees brushed against his. "I see you Scorpius."

"I still don't –"

"I mean it, I see _you,_ I see past the façade you put up and I hear the honesty in your voice."

"Then why didn't you let me explain."

"I needed to hear you say the words," I admitted, letting him hold my hand. "Only once I'd heard them could I be certain."

"But you kept running –"

I smiled slightly sheepishly, "I was scared that you'd tell me that it had all been a ploy."

He shook his head, but still he couldn't keep a smile off his face. "How is it you can see through me so well?" he marvelled quietly.

"I'm not sure," I admitted, "But I'm glad I can."


	2. Epilogue

_11 YEARS LATER_

I had made Malfoy manor home, something that I wasn't sure I would ever be able to do. The building itself had seemed very unlike a family home and my father-in-law joked that the manor had needed a woman's touch. I thought his words were true. However, rather than needing a woman's touch, the manor needed warmth to be brought back into it. And, upon moving in, I had made it my biggest priority. I had succeeded quickly.

"Where _is_ my son?" my father-in-law asked curiously, helping himself to some breakfast as he took a quick look at the clock. "Isn't he usually awake by now?"

"He is, but he took the nightshift yesterday," I explained, pouring him a cup of tea before I settled down for my own breakfast.

He made a sound of understanding, "And how is my darling granddaughter?"

"Recovering from a terrible cold," I admitted with a sigh, "She spent most of the night screaming and Scorpius tended to her the entire time. He spent most of the night awake."

"It seems like he won't be joining me for a round of quidditch today then." He raised his cup to his lips, knowing what I would say.

But I said it regardless, "I thought the healer told you not to go flying for a while."

"Are you really going to strip an old man of his one pleasure in life?" Arching an eyebrow, he placed his cup back on the table.

"You're not an old man," I dismissed his words. "You look exactly the way you did when I saw you for the first time, during my first year."

He smiled warmly at me, chuckling as I took a sip of my tea, "How did I end up with such a delightful daughter?"

"I guess you got lucky." Shrugging teasingly, I helped myself to a slice of toast.

"You know," my father-in-law started cautiously, "If you are so worried about me, then maybe you should join me for a game of quidditch? I remember Scorpius telling me that you're really good at it? And besides, you haven't left the manor since you gave birth."

"I don't feel ready to leave her alone," I admitted.

"You're hardly leaving her," he protested, "Her father's home today, isn't he? Now what do you say, are you ready to go flying? I'll even let you borrow my best broom?"

I laughed gently, meeting the eyes of the much older man, "Well when you put it like that."

"You can't go," Scorpius called out suddenly and I looked up to find him walking towards us, our daughter cradled against his chest.

"And, why can't I?" I asked with a raised eyebrow, smiling when Scorpius' father held his arms out to take his granddaughter.

"Because quidditch is mine and Dad's thing. Find your own thing." Scorpius pressed a kiss to my cheek as he sat down beside me.

"It's not like you own the copyrights to the game," I pointed out before turning to face his father, "Did you hear what he said?"

"Don't take it personally." He looked up briefly from Astoria's face and I tried to pretend I didn't see the faintest trace of sadness in his eyes. Apparently, our daughter was the spitting image of her grandmother at that age. I could read the Malfoy men so clearly. "He's just worried you'll beat him."

"Rightly worried as well," I piped up, forcing myself to act as though I hadn't seen a thing. "He knows I'd beat him with my eyes closed."

"Whatever you say, love," Scorpius muttered rather patronisingly, pressing a kiss to my temple.

A house elf materialised beside my father-in-law, handing him a note which he read over quickly before rising to his feet. Taking my daughter from him, I watched him curiously.

"There's some work I need to deal with," he explained, "It won't take long and I'll meet you outside for a game Scorpius."

"I'll be the referee," I offered, making my father-in-law smile.

"That's no fair," Scorpius piped up as his father headed towards the door, "You always favour dad over me."

"Well I can't help that I like him more."

Looking down into Astoria's face, I found her staring back at me with wide eyes. She smiled her toothless smile and I traced my finger over her cheeks.

"What's the matter?" Scorpius asked quietly when it was obvious that something was on my mind.

"Do you ever think about the fact that your dad probably feels lonely?" I asked curiously.

"Why would he feel lonely?" Scorpius furrowed his eyebrows, "He's surrounded by family."

"But it's not the same," I insisted, treading the controversial topic slowly.

He understood what I meant instantly, "He's an old man."

"He's really not. Wizards are known to live past 100 and you're dad's barely in his 50s." I reached out to press my hand against Scorpius' cheeks, "And I understand why you don't want to think about him dating anyone but he shouldn't spend the rest of his life alone Scorp."

"But I don't want him to be alone either." He sighed slightly as I dropped my hand from his cheek. "So why doesn't he start dating then?"

"Have you told him he could?"

"You think that's what he's waiting for?" Scorpius raised an eyebrow.

"I think you underestimate the bond you and your father share," I admitted, watching him as he leaned closer towards me to play with Astoria's hand when she wrapped it around one of his fingers. "Promise me you'll talk to him about it?"

He raised his eyes to mine, "I will."

"Thank you," I said, leaning forward to press a kiss to his lips.


End file.
